Sporting new sponsorship from Arvo Beer, Baird recorded a time of 2:11.5043 and was clearly pushing hard, going up the escape road at Hell Corner in his search for the limit in the dry conditions.

2004 Champion Alex Davison was just 0.0814s behind Baird in second place, while Jonny Reid was third fastest in the Nathan Tinkler owned Hunter Sports Group Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.

Fourth fastest was Dutchman Jeroen Bleekmolen, who is doing a one-off race weekend in the series. Bleekmolen’s is the 2008 and 2009 Porsche Supercup champion and will be a good yardstick for the category regulars.